The 38th Ryder Cup was held 1–4 October 2010 at the Celtic Manor Resort in Newport, Wales. It was the 17th time the Ryder Cup had been staged in Britain, but the first time in Wales. It was played on the newly constructed Twenty Ten course, specifically designed for the event. The team captains were Colin Montgomerie for Europe and Corey Pavin for the United States.
With the U.S. as the defending champion, Europe won by a score of 14 to 13 and regained the Cup. It was Europe's sixth victory in the last eight contests and their fourth consecutive home win. The event was plagued by bad weather with play having to be suspended twice. Having taken a 3-point lead into the singles matches Europe faced a U.S. fightback and the conclusion of the Ryder Cup 2010 went right down to the anchor match between Graeme McDowell and Hunter Mahan. Eventually McDowell defeated Mahan 3 & 1 to regain the Cup for Europe.
The competition was officially opened by Carwyn Jones, First Minister for Wales.
Format The Ryder Cup is a match play event, with each match worth one point. The original schedule in 2010 was:
Day 1 (Friday) – 4 four-ball (better ball) matches in a morning session and 4 foursome (alternate shot) matches in an afternoon session Day 2 (Saturday) – 4 four-ball matches in a morning session and 4 foursome matches in an afternoon session Day 3 (Sunday) – 12 singles matches
With a total of 28 points, 14 points are required to win the Cup, and 14 points are required for the defending champion to retain the Cup. All matches were played to a maximum of 18 holes.
It was the second time in succession that the schedule for four-ball (better ball) and foursome (alternate shot) matches on Day One and Day Two has been changed, i.e. it was scheduled to be effectively the same timetable as was used in 2006.
Revised format
As a result of the long suspension of play on the first day due to heavy rain, the format for the rest of the competition was changed to try to bring a conclusion to the matches on Sunday. However, further heavy rain caused a delayed start on Sunday, so that the last of the revised sessions would be played on Monday. Because of the changes, there were a number of Ryder Cup firsts. For the first time in the history of the Ryder Cup, all 24 players took part in pairing sessions at the same time in six pairings (as opposed to the usual four pairings) and in another first for the event both foursome and four-ball matches were played in the same session at the same time. It is also the first time that the competition went into a fourth day. The revised schedule consisted of four sessions as opposed to the usual five.
Session One (Friday and Saturday) – 4 four-ball (better ball) matches Session Two (Saturday) – 6 foursome (alternate shot) matches Session Three (Saturday and Sunday) – 2 foursome and 4 four-ball matches Session Four (Monday) – 12 singles matches
The total number of each type of match remained the same, 8 four-ball, 8 foursomes, and 12 singles. By captains' agreement, matches would conclude at sundown Monday if not completed before then. Any matches still in progress would be considered halved at that point.
Television The matches were covered live domestically on Sky Sports with daily highlights shown on the BBC.
All matches were covered live in the United States, a first for a Ryder Cup in Europe. ESPN handled Friday coverage. Mike Tirico and Paul Azinger hosted from the 18th tower, with Curtis Strange, Peter Alliss, and Sean McDonough calling holes, and on-course reporters Andy North, Billy Kratzert and Judy Rankin. Scott Van Pelt and Tom Weiskopf handled recaps during coverage. Most of ESPN's coverage was rained out on Friday, with a 7-hour rain delay during the middle of the day. NBC Sports covered the weekend action, with Dan Hicks and Johnny Miller hosting from the 18th tower, Gary Koch calling holes, and on-course reporters Mark Rolfing, Roger Maltbie, and Dottie Pepper. USA Network aired coverage of the singles live on Monday morning. The coverage was produced by corporate sibling NBC, with NBC's announcers being used on the telecast.
Team qualification and selection
Europe The European team consisted of: The top four players on the Ryder Cup World Points List Total points earned in Official World Golf Ranking events from 3 September 2009 to 22 August 2010, and thereafter only in the 2010 Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles. The five players, not qualified above, on the Ryder Cup European Points List Money earned in official European Tour events from 3 September 2009 to 29 August 2010 Three captain's picks The captain's picks were named on 29 August. In the previous the Ryder Cup had been two wildcard places on the European team, but on 12 May 2009 it was announced that this had been increased to three.
There was much discussion about the qualification process after leading players based primarily in the United States, such as Paul Casey and Justin Rose, failed to make the team. As a result, the priority of the European and World lists was switched for the 2012 Ryder Cup.
Final points standings
+World points listPositionNamePoints1Lee Westwood (Q)422.012Rory McIlroy (Q)316.953Martin Kaymer (Q)285.424Graeme McDowell (Q)249.355Edoardo Molinari (P)248.416Luke Donald (P)231.167Ian Poulter (q)211.248Pádraig Harrington (P)204.979Justin Rose195.7410Francesco Molinari (q)181.9111Miguel Ángel Jiménez (q)171.2112Paul Casey164.5113Peter Hanson (q)158.8714Ross Fisher (q)152.6015Rhys Davies141.4016Robert Karlsson141.28
+European points listPositionNamePoints1Lee Westwood (q)3,446,137.872Martin Kaymer (q)2,638,282.583Rory McIlroy (q)2,368,205.114Graeme McDowell (q)2,307,041.475Ian Poulter (Q)2,238,874.066Ross Fisher (Q)1,732,537.577Francesco Molinari (Q)1,700,408.548Miguel Ángel Jiménez (Q)1,642,436.149Peter Hanson (Q)1,599,952.4110Edoardo Molinari (P)1,542,828.3211Paul Casey1,487,776.8612Pádraig Harrington (P)1,486,529.6313Ross McGowan1,414,157.7914Simon Dyson1,367,083.5815Álvaro Quirós1,296,413.0416Luke Donald (P)1,290,803.61
Players in qualifying places (Q) are shown in green; captain's picks (P) are shown in yellow; those in italics (q) qualified through the other points list.
United States The United States team consisted of: The top eight players on the Ryder Cup Points List Points gained from money earned in majors in 2009 and official PGA tour events in 2010 up to 15 August (i.e. up to and including money earned at the 2010 PGA Championship). Money earned in 2010 majors counted double and money earned in 2010 events played opposite the majors or World Golf Championships counted half. Four captain's picks
The team was finalised on 7 September when the four wildcards were announced.
Final points standings +US Ryder Cup points listPositionNamePoints1Phil Mickelson (Q)6,095.0632Hunter Mahan (Q)4,095.6203Bubba Watson (Q)3,894.3194Jim Furyk (Q)3,763.6425Steve Stricker (Q)3,697.9766Dustin Johnson (Q)3,573.8047Jeff Overton (Q)3,533.1488Matt Kuchar (Q)3,415.8539Anthony Kim3,274.68410Lucas Glover3,052.87411Zach Johnson (P)3,051.89712Tiger Woods (P)2,902.58013Bo Van Pelt2,662.23414Stewart Cink (P)2,644.83315Ben Crane2,629.79616Ricky Barnes2,610.17117Nick Watney2,557.44118Sean O'Hair2,417.57419J. B. Holmes2,390.71020Rickie Fowler (P)2,353.320 Players in the qualifying places (Q) are shown in green. Captains picks (P) are shown in yellow.
Teams
Captains The team captains were Colin Montgomerie for Europe and Corey Pavin for the USA.
Vice-captains Each captain selected a number of vice-captains to assist him during the tournament and to advise the players on the course.
The European vice-captains were Thomas Bjørn, Darren Clarke, Sergio García, Paul McGinley and José María Olazábal. Olazábal was added as a fifth vice-captain during the tournament, when the revised format meant that there were not enough vice-captains to cover all six matches simultaneously.
The USA vice-captains were Paul Goydos, Tom Lehman, Davis Love III and Jeff Sluman.
Players Team EuropeNameAgeResidencePoints rank(World)Points rank(European)WorldrankingPreviousRyder CupsMatchesW–L–HWinningpercentage Lee Westwood 37 Worksop, England 1 1 3 6 29 14–10–5 56.90 Rory McIlroy 21 Holywood, Northern Ireland 2 3 9 0 Rookie Martin Kaymer25 Mettmann, Germany 3 2 6 0 Rookie Graeme McDowell 31 Portrush, Northern Ireland 4 4 13 1 4 2–1–1 62.50 Ian Poulter34 Milton Keynes, England 7 5 16 2 7 5–2–0 71.43 Ross Fisher 29 Cheam, England 14 6 27 0 Rookie Francesco Molinari27 Turin, Italy 10 7 32 0 Rookie Miguel Ángel Jiménez 46 Málaga, Spain 11 8 26 3 12 2–7–3 29.17 Peter Hanson 32 Trelleborg, Sweden 13 9 42 0 Rookie Edoardo Molinari 29 Turin, Italy 5 10 15 0 Rookie Luke Donald 32 High Wycombe, England 6 16 8 2 7 5–1–1 78.57 Pádraig Harrington 39 Dublin, Ireland 8 12 22 5 21 7–11–3 40.48
Captains picks are shown in yellow; the world rankings and records are at the start of the 2010 Ryder Cup. Peter Hanson celebrated his 33rd birthday on the final day.
Team USANameAgeResidencePointsrankWorldrankingPreviousRyder CupsMatchesW–L–HWinningpercentagePhil Mickelson 40 Rancho Santa Fe, California 1 2 7 30 10–14–6 43.33Hunter Mahan 28 Plano, Texas 2 14 1 5 2–0–3 70.00Bubba Watson 31 Bagdad, Florida 3 24 0 RookieJim Furyk 40 Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida 4 5 6 24 8–13–3 39.58Steve Stricker 43 Madison, Wisconsin 5 4 1 3 0–2–1 16.67Dustin Johnson 26 Myrtle Beach, South Carolina 6 12 0 RookieJeff Overton 27 Bloomington, Indiana 7 48 0 RookieMatt Kuchar 32 Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida 8 11 0 RookieZach Johnson 34 Lake Mary, Florida 11 19 1 4 1–2–1 37.50Tiger Woods 34 Windermere, Florida 12 1 5 25 10–13–2 44.00Stewart Cink 37 Duluth, Georgia 14 35 4 15 4–7–4 40.00Rickie Fowler 21 Las Vegas, Nevada 20 33 0 Rookie
Captains picks are shown in yellow; the world rankings and records are at the start of the 2010 Ryder Cup.
Session 1 (Friday and Saturday)
Four-ball Results Westwood/Kaymer 3 & 2Mickelson/D. JohnsonMcIlroy/McDowellhalvedCink/KucharPoulter/Fisher 2 upStricker/WoodsDonald/Harrington 3 & 2Watson/Overton 1 Session 2 1 Overall 2
Four-balls play on Friday began on schedule but was suspended at 9:43 am BST due to poor course conditions because of rain. Play was resumed at 5:00 pm as the water had drained off the course but was suspended again for the day just after 7 pm BST. Play was completed Saturday morning.
Session 2 (Saturday)
Foursomes
Results Jiménez/Hanson 4 & 3Woods/StrickerMolinari/Molinari 2 upZ. Johnson/MahanWestwood/KaymerhalvedFuryk/FowlerHarrington/Fisher 3 & 2Mickelson/D. JohnsonPoulter/Donald 2 & 1Watson/OvertonMcDowell/McIlroy 1 upCink/Kuchar 2 Session 3 4 Overall 6 In order to fit the intended number of matches into a schedule that had been condensed due to the weather, three sessions of four matches each were converted into 2 sessions of 6 matches each, requiring all 24 players to play during Sessions 2 and 3.
Session 3 (Saturday and Sunday)
Foursomes Results Donald/Westwood 6 & 5Stricker/WoodsMcDowell/McIlroy 3 & 1Z. Johnson/Mahan
Four-ball Results Harrington/Fisher 2 & 1Furyk/D. JohnsonHanson/Jiménez 2 upWatson/OvertonMolinari/MolinarihalvedCink/KucharPoulter/Kaymer 2 & 1Mickelson/Fowler 5 Session 9 Overall 6
Play began in the third session on late Saturday afternoon. Team Europe was leading all six matches when darkness halted play. Start of play on Sunday was delayed until 13:20, due to severe weather overnight leaving running water on the fairways again.
Session 4 (Monday) For the first time in Ryder Cup history, the final session was conducted on a Monday, due to torrential rain on the first day which delayed the schedule.
Singles